Red card call for council

A mistake in the March 24 council meeting minutes resulted in a stand-off between Mayor John Gangell and councillor Paul Bridges at the April 28 meeting.

Cr Bridges accused Cr Gangell of giving misinformation to a member of the public about the fate of the bowling and tennis clubs and said he would raise a red card during meetings if it happened again.

Cr Bridges said when asked if the clubs would be moved, the answer recorded in the minutes was "the Mayor responded that there has been no discussion or decision made on this matter".

"Every councillor and senior staff member knows that this is not the case," he said.

"I agree that no final decisions have been made (but) I have been at meetings behind closed doors where these matters have been discussed and proposals presented as options that affect the future of both clubs.

"My issue is that the recorded answer gives a false impression and does not reflect the truth.

"The correct answer is to state that a matter has been declared confidential and clearly state the reasons for that confidentiality."

Cr Bridges said he would raise the red card because councillors were not permitted to speak during question time.

Cr Gangell told the Eastern Reporter the audio recording of the March meeting revealed that he said "no decision has been made as far as Im aware. The council has not made any determination in regard to the future of the tennis club or the bowling club".

He said the minutes of the March meeting were amended to reflect what he actually said.

Cr Gangell said he was "extremely disappointed" in Cr Bridges' accusations.

"This is purely and simply another attention-seeking stunt," he said.

Cr Bridges denied it was a stunt.

"I was warned against it after the meeting (but) I will take the red card to every meeting and I will have it in my pocket," he said.

"If misinformation continues to be given, I will blow them out of the water."